Matcha Pound Cake (Moist & Easy)

Have you ever had matcha pound cake before? Well, you should try this cake then! It is soft and moist, and is filled with the lovely aroma of matcha!

It definitely adds a delicious twist to a normal pound cake. And if you are a fan of soft and fluffy pound cakes, you should also try my pumpkin spice pound cake, lime pound cake, banana pound cake and Earl Grey pound cake.

Jump to:

• ❤️Why you will love this recipe
• 📋Ingredients
• 🧾Substitution and Variations
• 👩‍🍳How to Make
• 🍽️Serving & storage
• 💡Expert Tips
• 💭FAQs
• ❤️More Recipes You Will Love
• 📖Recipe

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• An easy matcha pound cake recipe, and quick to make too.
• It has moist and extra tender crumbs with delicious green tea flavor.
• The cake is great to be eaten on its own or with a simple dredge of icing sugar. You can also add a simple glaze icing drizzle or a chocolate ganache drizzle to it if you wish.
• Given the sturdy and perfect texture of pound cakes, this matcha pound cake is excellent for stacking too. You can double the recipe below and bake it in two 7-inches round cake tin. Fill and cover the cakes with your choice of frosting for a lovely matcha flavored celebration cake.

📋Ingredients

• Self-raising flour + baking powder + salt - mix these and sift together before adding to the cake batter.
• Granulated sugar (caster sugar) - fine sugar works best for cakes. Coarse sugar will leave white sugar specks on the surface of the cake after baking.
• Butter - I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, add an extra small pinch of salt to the recipe.
• Eggs - Use large eggs (large size)
• Milk - whole milk is best for a rich cake.
• Matcha powder (green tea powder) - use good quality, culinary grade matcha powder for best taste.
• Vanilla extract - adds a lovely aroma and flavor to the cake.

*Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*

🧾Substitution and Variations

• Self raising flour can be substituted with all purpose flour and baking powder. For every 225g of all purpose flour, add one and half teaspoons of baking powder. Mix well and sift three times before using. To make 180g of self raising flour as mentioned in the recipe card below, mix 180g of all purpose flour with one and one fifth teaspoon of baking powder.
• You can replace salted butter with unsalted butter, however, add an extra small pinch of salt to the recipe.
• Skimmed milk can be used in place of whole milk.
• Instead of adding the matcha powder to the entire cake batter, you can also make it into a matcha swirl cake (with a marble effect). To do this, cut the matcha powder in the recipe by half. Mix the cake batter as usual but do not add the matcha powder. Once the batter is ready, divide it into two portions. Sift in the matcha powder to the first portion and leave the second one plain as it is. Spoon both the batter portions into the cake pan in alternate order like in this marble cake here and then use a butter knife to cut through the batter in horizontal and vertical lines to make the swirls in the batter. Bake as usual.
• The cake can also be baked in round or square cake tins. Double the recipe and bake in two 7 inches round cake tins or 6 inches square tins to make a layer cake or sandwich cake.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you do try, please let me know in the comments section below!

👩‍🍳How to Make

Mixing the cake batter

This cake is made using the creaming method, i.e. by creaming the butter and sugar as the first step, before adding all other ingredients in.

1. Measure sugar into a bowl.
2. Add butter.
3. Cream both the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (with a paddle attachment). This should take at least 2 minutes.
4. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure there is no butter left on the sides.
5. Once the butter and sugar are well creamed, add the eggs. Add these one at a time, and each time, beat until all the traces of the egg are no longer visible before adding the next egg in.
6. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

Adding the dry ingredients and milk

1. Next, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and matcha powder into a large bowl. Fold these sifted flour mixture (dry ingredients) into the creamed wet ingredients mixture, alternately with milk. You should do this in 3 batches. Start by folding in one-third of the dry ingredients.
2. Next, add half of the milk. Mix well.
3. Continue with the second third of the dry ingredients.
4. Fold them in followed by the last batch of milk. Mix well.
5. Finally, add the final third batch of the sifted dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl and fold them in until well combined.
6. And lastly, add the vanilla extract. Mix until it's all combined.

Baking the cake

1. Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured (or parchment paper lined) loaf pan measuring 8 inches by 4 inches.
2. Level the top of the cake batter and bake the matcha pound cake in a preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius.

• Check for doneness at least 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, or with moist cake crumbs, the cake is ready and can be removed from the oven. If there is still wet batter sticking to the skewer, continue baking the cake until the 45 minutes is up.
• Remove the baked matcha pound cake from the oven. Let it rest in the tin for 2 minutes. Use a jam knife to loosen the sides of the cake and then turn it out onto a wire rack (cooling rack) to cool completely. Place the cake upright while cooling.
• To ensure the cake remains moist, cover it with a piece of kitchen towel while cooling it.

🍽️Serving & storage

• This matcha pound cake lasts at room temperature for a good 4 to 5 days, provided it is handled without any contact with moisture. Keep it covered in a container.
• It is best refrigerated if intended to be kept longer. Always keep the cake in an airtight container to avoid it from drying up and losing its moisture.

💡Expert Tips

• Use room temperature butter and room temperature eggs - Sometimes the cake batter curdles at the point eggs are added into the creamed butter and sugar mixture. This happens because the butter and eggs are of a different temperature. Ideally, both the butter and eggs should be at room temperature. If one of them is cold, the cake batter tends to curdle. To avoid this, make sure to use room temperature eggs and room temperature butter. If the curdling still happens, fold in some flour. Do not add the milk until the batter is no longer curdled. Once it is smooth (after adding the flour), continue with the liquids and bake as usual.
• Tips for a moist cake:
  • Do not overbake the cake. Given the cake tin size of 8 inches by 4 inches, this cake requires 40 to 45 minutes in the oven at 170 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, check to see if the cake is ready 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a skewer in the center. If it comes out without any wet cake batter, the cake is done and can be removed from the oven.
  • The other tip in ensuring your matcha pound cake remains moist is by wrapping it in cling wrap (plastic wrap) and refrigerating it while it is still warm. Do this for at least 1 to 2 hours. And then remove the cake from the fridge, let it warm up to room temperature and then remove the cling wrap. Dredge the icing sugar on and cut it into slices. Wrapping the cake while it is still warm helps keep the moisture in the cake, and this keeps it moist.

💭FAQs

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